She Walked Away
by Missreadingfool
Summary: This is my contribution to the Fifty Shades of Grey Lyric Wheel. The song this short-story is based upon is "The Mess I Made" by Parachute. This is my version on how Christian finally saw the evil of his relationship with the Pedophile and how he nearly lost his wife because of his stubbornness to deal with that woman! I hope you enjoy. Happy Reading.


She Walked Away

The elevator doors closed leaving a tearful Christian Grey standing in the vestibule staring at the cold metal panels. Slowly he walked back into the foyer of the penthouse and looked around the cold austere space of the great room. Everywhere he looked, he saw her. He closed his eyes and for a moment, he could feel and smell her. He could feel his heart pounding against his chest as he fell to his knees.

"Nooooooooooo!" He yelled at the top of his lungs. His large hands were pulling at his copper curls. "ANA!" The tears began. "Oh God, no, Ana…My Ana."

His screams brought his security team running into the room with Gail behind them. Taylor stopped short when he realized that there was no immediate danger to Mr. Grey. He holstered his gun. "Mr. Grey, sir…let me help you."

"Don't. Just leave me alone." Christian bellowed. "Go away."

Gail knew this day was coming. Being the housekeeper, she knew that Mr. and Mrs. Grey argued all through the night and most of the day. She already stripped and washed the bed in the guest room where Mrs. Grey slept the night before. "Jason, let me." Gail whispered as she motioned for him and Sawyer to leave the room. She bent down to her employer. "Mr. Grey, please let me help you." She refrained from touching him.

"She left me, Gail. She fucking walked out and left me. She said she would never leave me."

"I know, Mr. Grey." She softly said. Gail could not blame Ana for walking out. Christian was being unreasonable. "Why don't I fix you something to drink?"

"I don't want anything to drink…I want my damn wife back here in our fucking home!" He raged.

Gail sighed heavily. "This is why she left you. There are days that you are a complete asshole." Gail declared not caring if this was terminating moment in her employment. "Did you really think that she would keep taking your emotional abuse? You don't have the right to speak to her or anyone as you do." Gail stood up with her hands on her hips like a mother chastising her child. "Ana is a sweet, loving, kind, and precious woman and you have been a monster to her for the last few weeks. I'm shocked she didn't leave sooner."

Christian was shocked speechless. Gail had never spoken so boldly toward him. He hung his head. "I've fucked it all up. She's gone forever isn't she?"

"She's not gone…yet. She texted me saying that she was going to Bellevue. Your mother will take care of her."

Christian sat on the floor. The memories of the last few weeks raced over him. He was a bastard. He was frustrated with business matters that were not working out the way he wish. Ros was complaining constantly about her workload and Andrea, his PA seemed to be brainless of late. His schedules were fucked up, paperwork filed incorrectly, and she would disappear during the day. Christian came home a tyrant and Ana was in his bull's eye. Her every little action or spoken word was scrutinized and found lacking. His first temper tantrum occurred because she jokingly told him that he was a slave driver. He yelled at her, calling her stupid, and told her to shut her damn mouth about things she had no business discussing. Ana ran from the kitchen in tears and locked herself in their bedroom.

The image of Ana crying and his reaction of a locked door keeping him from his wife made him cringe. Christian could see himself kicking the door off the hinges to get to his wife. He stood over her breathing fire as she curled up on the bed.

_"You will never lock me out of our room!" He raged. "Never, do you hear me, Anastasia?"_

_"Yes." She choked back a sob._

_"Yes, what?" He asked through clinched teeth._

_"Yes, sir." She softly said. _

Christian's hands were in his hair. "Oh, god…please…help me! I can't live without her." He stayed on the floor. He looked around to find himself alone. He leaned against the wall knowing that he had finally managed to drive the only woman he ever loved out of their home and possibly out of his arms. He knew he was wrong to hurt her with his words and actions. She had done nothing except show him love, devotion, care, and respect. He still couldn't believe that this fine young woman loved him. He did not deserve her. He had done nothing to merit such a good woman in his life.

The incident that broke the proverbial camel's back started the evening before when Ana was late getting home from work. Christian was waiting for her in the vestibule. When the elevator doors opened, he grabbed her by the arm and pulled her into the apartment. She cried out because his grip bit into her skin.

_"Stop it, Christian, you are hurting me?" She screamed as she was thrown onto the sofa._

_"Where were you?" He raged. His fists were balled and his grey eyes blazed with suspicion. "I know you left work over an hour ago."_

_"I had an appointment." She said through the tears. "What is wrong with you? Why are you acting this way?" _

_"Tell me the truth, Anastasia. Where were you?" _

_Ana wiped away the tears that burned down her cheeks. "I saw Dr. Green. It's time for my shot." _

_Christian looked down at his beautiful wife. "Oh, Ana, I'm so sorry." He tried to reach out for her but she flinched away from him. _

_"Don't touch me." She said sternly. "I have had enough of your mood swings and all this shit. I don't deserve this Christian. I've done nothing to make you act this way. No more, Christian…I can't take it anymore." _

_Her strong willed words irritated him. She was his wife and she no right to speak to him as such. "Ana," He warned, "don't." _

_"No, Christian…you don't. When you decide to tell me what in the hell your problem is then I will be more wifely to you…until then…I will sleep in the guestroom."_

_And, she did. She slept in the guestroom with the door locked. Christian's first impulse was the kick down the door, but Taylor stopped him with a dangerous dark stare from those cold black eyes. "If you attempt to do what I think you are about to do…I will kick your ass across the city. Leave Mrs. Grey alone." _

_"She is my wife, not yours." Christian sneered. _

_"Then, treat her as such." Taylor took guard in front of the door and motioned for Christian to move on. _

Christian slept alone that night…actually he did not sleep. He sat on the edge of his bed and stared into the darkness of the room and his soul. He knew he was out of control. He knew he was being a bastard toward the one woman that did truly love him and looked beyond his shortcomings. He could not control the anger that was in him.

The next morning Christian found Ana in the kitchen eating breakfast. Her ignoring him set his temper off.

_"Stop being a bitchy teenager and talk to me." He said sternly._

_"Why should I talk to you? You never listen." She pushed her empty plate away. "When you decide to actually act like an adult and tell me what the hell is eating you then I will talk with you." She quickly hopped off the chair. "I will see you after work." _

_"Don't you walk away from me. Damn it, Ana, stop being so self-righteous. I am sorry, but damn it, you drive me crazy." _

_"I've done nothing wrong. You're the one who comes home raging like a damn bull with a corncob stuck up his ass. I can't even say a word lately without you going off on me and I am sick of it. I will not take this anymore." _

_Seeing her standing before him with her shoulders squared and her eyes flashing anger was a fucking turn-on but it also pissed him off for her to speak to him in such a way. No one talked to him like that! "Ana, stop! I said stop, damn it!" She ignored him and walked toward the elevator. She never looked back nor acknowledged his requests. She stepped onto the elevator and went to work._

Sitting against the wall, Christian kept reliving the arguments. He was angry at the world and took it out on Ana and she fought back refusing to be his whipping boy. The final incident was just an hour ago. He closed his eyes and saw the horror play itself once again.

_Ana returned home from work on time and sat at the kitchen island having a glass of wine. She was exhausted and all she wanted was a good meal and a long hot bath. She heard the elevator and knew that her husband was home. Her body was prepared for fight or flight. _

_Christian wiped his curls from his forehead as he stepped into the apartment. He stopped suddenly when he saw that his wife arrived home before he did. _

_"Mr. Grey…I see that you are running late. I hope you had a great day." Her voice dripped with sarcasm. _

_"Not now, Ana. The Peterman deal fell through and I am not in a good mood." He went to the refrigerator and grabbed the open bottle of white wine. He looked over her and noticed something different. "Why did you change your clothes? You were not wearing a green blouse when you left this morning." _

_"I spilled my latte all over myself and changed into this over at Kate's." _

_"You went to Kate's apartment?" _

_"Yes, it was closer than coming back to Escala and I did have a meeting that I could not miss." _

_Christian's eyes squinted as he considered her explanation. "I should have been told that you were leaving GP." _

_"I don't see the need to call you that I spilled latte on my blouse." She took a sip of her wine. "I did call you this afternoon but Andrea said you were in a meeting and did not want to be disturbed." She watched his reactions closely. "Of course, I was quite shocked when I walked into Starbucks for my coffee break and saw you and Elena Lincoln having coffee."_

_"It was nothing, Ana." He said quickly knowing where her thoughts were headed. "Our business relationship is now over." _

_"Really, I didn't know that holding hands was a business maneuver." _

_Christian stiffens not liking what she was not saying. "I said our business relationship is over." _

_Ana shrugged and left her seat. "Whatever." She breathed. She knew better. She saw how Elena was salivating over Christian. The bitch was not done with Christian and the fool could not see it._

_"Are you accusing me of something?"_

_Ana did not answer. This was not how she wanted to spend her evening arguing over the pedophile bitch from hell. "I'm going to take a bath." _

_He reached her before she left the kitchen. "It's over with. I severed all ties to her for you. Isn't that enough for you to trust me?" _

_Ana began to laugh. "You really are clueless. I saw how she was looking at you. She was ready to tear off your clothes. She's not done with you, baby and you are too dense to see it. When are you going to realize that she is not good for you, she never was and she never will be?" _

_"You don't understand…"_

_"Oh, yes…I forgot she helped you. You taught you control. Well, where is that world-famous control when you are stomping around here yelling at me? All that bitch ever taught you was how to abuse other people and made you think it was acceptable. Well, Christian, if it's so acceptable why don't you tell the world that you were a Dom?"_

_They stared at each other neither willing to back down. "Fuck, Ana, what do you want me from me? I married you, gave you my name, and I love you. What more do you want?" _

_"I want that cunt out of our lives for good. I don't want you seeing her anymore. I can't stand her and neither can your family." She watched him sigh heavily. It dawned on her that this is why he has been in such a mood. He was lamenting over the loss of what he thought was a friend. "She's the reason why you have been such a jerk. You don't want to sever those ties." _

_"Don't be stupid, Ana." He said turning away from her. He closed his eyes and felt that familiar pain race through his body. He did lose a friend. Elena was the only one who understood him._

_"Fine, if you want her so much, go be with her. I'm done. I can't live like this wondering if you are going to run after her." _

_Christian turned on her. "Maybe, I will. I'm getting sick of everyone telling me that she is bad. She's my friend, not yours, not Mother's, but mine, and I shouldn't have to clear my friends through my wife." _

_"Of course not, Christian, but I have to. So what's good for the goose is not good for the gander? You can tell me who to see and when I can see them, but you don't have to live under those rules. Mr. Grey, go fuck yourself." Ana walked away from him and down the hall to their bedroom, and a few moments later returned with a packed suitcase. She didn't say a word but walked past him to the elevator._

Now Christian was alone in his apartment. Everywhere he looked, he saw his wife. He found himself in the bathroom staring at his reflection. "I'm staring at the mess I made. I did this to us. I drove her away." He went to his knees. "I should have told her the truth. I should have shared with her all my hopes, dreams, and fears." He looked toward heaven. "Help me, I need her. I can't live without her. She's my everything. Please, help me. Help me!" The tears rolled down his face. "Ana…I love you! I love you, baby…come home to me."

However, she didn't come home, no matter how much he prayed. He knew she was living with his parents at Bellevue but she refused to answer her cell phone when he called, his emails were not read, and when he tried to see her, his own Mother turned him away at the door. He did not go to work and left Ros to deal with all problems. He ate very little and drank too much. Taylor and Gail watched him self-destruct. He brought this on himself because of his pride and stubbornness over a sick fuck like Elena Lincoln.

Taylor stood at the end of the sofa looking down at that man who signed his checks. Christian had a two-week growth on his face. "You have company, Mr. Grey."

"Tell them to fuck off."

"It's Mrs. Lincoln."

Those gray eyes shot open. _Oh, God, no! I ask for my angel to return and you send her._ "I don't want to see anyone right now. Tell her to leave."

"She is adamant that she speak to you. She told me, and I quote, "If he refuses me, I will go to the press and tell everyone what he really likes between the sheets", unquote." Taylor clasped his hands behind his back and waited for his reaction.

"Fuck." Christian stood up. "Send her up."

Elena Lincoln slinked into the penthouse like the snake she is. She wore her usual black that emphasized her curvy figure and her platinum blonde hair. "Christian, darling, I heard through the grapevine that Ana left you. I am here for you, darling." She tried to touch him but he avoided her touch. "Why did that little mousy thing leave such a man as you?"

"You. You are the reason why she left me. She hates you more than my mother does," He actually felt joy when she flinched. "and when she saw us at Starbucks and you were trying to hold my hand…she saw that as a betrayal."

"Oh, pssshhhh…what silliness. She needs to grow up and accept that we are old and dear friends."

"We are not friends, Elena. I know that you saw her coming in and you grabbed my hand. I saw the CCTV tapes from Starbucks. Once again, you have managed to ruin my life."

"How can you say that? I've saved you from this sham of a marriage. You don't need her. You can be free from her and go back to what you know and need."

"What do you know about what I need?"

"Oh, darling, I made you. I know exactly what you need. You are a man of the world and that world is all yours for the taking. Admit it, you miss it, don't you? You miss taking a cane to a lily-white ass and turning it pink. You miss the control and the power." Elena laughed evilly. Her eyes greedily looked over him. "Come back to me, Christian and I will be your Sub."

"You don't know shit about me, Elena. And, what's this shit that you made me…fuck you bitch…you didn't make me…I built my own business. The only thing you made of me is a fucking monster that my wife, whom I love, can't live with."

The blonde laughed. "Love is for fools and weaklings, Christian. Don't let this girl fuck up all that we have."

"We have nothing, Elena." Christian stressed. "I don't want to be with you…hell, I can't stand the sight of you." He walked away from her. "You need to leave now and don't ever come back."

Elena was shocked to hear his cruel words. "You are dismissing me? ME? I made you Christian Grey. If it wasn't for me, your fine ass would either be dead or in prison. I won't let you ruin what I have made. You owe me, Christian."

He turned on her with his eyes flashing a dangerous anger that he had not felt in years. He could easily kill this bitch. "I owe you nothing. I paid back the loan you gave me with a substantial interest rate. I helped you with your salons and I paid for your divorce, so don't fucking stand there and tell me that I owe you." He was in her face. "What did you do for me except turn me into a sick fuck? I've been alone for two weeks because the woman I love cannot abide by this so-called friendship. I've finally seen you for the pedophile that you are. I was fifteen years old, Elena… fucking fifteen. I wonder how many other young boys you have abused in the last six years."

Elena's mouth fell open. "Christian?" She couldn't believe what she heard from him. Somehow, she lost control of her creation. "You need to control yourself, boy. I have enough on you to ruin you."

"Go ahead. Ruin away. I don't want any of this crap without my Ana. Just remember, Mrs. Lincoln, you out me you out yourself and I am sure the prosecuting attorney would love to speak to you for your nefarious nocturnal activities. So, go ahead…go to the press and see who gets taken down. I just don't give a fuck anymore!" They stared at each other. "Taylor, Mrs. Lincoln is leaving now and she is no longer welcome in my home, my business, or anywhere I or Mrs. Grey may be. Please escort her out."

"You are ruining everything, Christian. She can't give you what you need." Elena was desperate. She couldn't lose this man. He was her wetdream come true. He was the only man that ever satisfied her sexual needs. "Christian, I can. I can do it for you."

"You can't do shit for me." He spat as he grabbed her arm and led her to the elevator. "Can you hold me? Can you give me children? Can you love me unconditionally? You don't even know the meaning of love. All you know is how to fuck…and toward the end of our sexual relationship it was fucking boring!" The elevator doors opened and Christian pushed her into the lift. "Good-bye, Mrs. Lincoln." Taylor was wide-eyed as he witnessed Christian finally grow a pair of balls where the Lincoln bitch was concerned. She was yelling Christian's name as the doors shut. "Taylor, make sure that all the codes are changed and make put a tail on her. I don't want her accosting my wife or anyone in my family."

"Yes, sir."

Ana did not notice the body sitting on her sofa as she entered her office. She was too busy organizing the paperwork that she carried in with her. She sat at her desk and quickly checked her email. She frowned when she saw more than thirty unread messages from her husband. She chewed her bottom lip contemplating her decision not to read them. She was about to click on the most recent email when she heard someone whisper her name. She jumped when she noticed Christian sitting on her sofa.

"What are you doing here?" She asked as she tried to calm her racing heart.

"Watching you." He said smiling. He stood to his full height and walked towards her. "You are quite beautiful when you are deep in thought."

Ana's blue eyes scanned over her husband. He was freshly shaven and she could smell the outdoorsy scent of his bodywash. She did notice that he had dark circles under those beautiful intense gray eyes. "Why are you here?"

"I have a few things to say to you." He went down on his knees before her. "I am the world's biggest fool, Ana, and I know I don't deserve you. Baby, I love you so much and I have been a horrible husband. You deserve so much more, Baby. I am truly sorry for all the pain and grief that I have caused you…and you were right…I was being a fool. I've done a lot of thinking while you were gone and I realized that you, Flynn, and my parents have been correct all along. That woman is evil. She abused me for years and has been using me ever since. I got rid of her, Ana. She's gone from my life." A tear slid down his cheek. "I should have loved you more. I should have been tenderer with you. I've missed touching your beautiful face and feeling your soft skin. I should have kissed you more, loved your more, and most of all I should have trusted you more with my feelings and fears. Ana, can you ever forgive me? Will you forgive me and give me another chance?"

Ana looked down at her hands and spied her wedding rings. Her dreams and hopes were symbolized in those rings. "What did you do to her?"

"I pulled my support from all business dealings with her. I told her to leave us alone and that I never wanted to see her again. Last I heard, she has left Seattle."

"I want to come home, Christian." She began to cry. "I miss you so much, but I can't live like that anymore. You have to let me breathe and you cannot use me to relieve your frustrations." She wanted to reach out for him, but she couldn't quite let herself yet. "We need help here. I think we could use a few sessions with a marriage counselor."

"I can call Flynn…" He started but she shook her head. "No Flynn?"

"No Flynn. We need a neutral person and Flynn knows you too personally. He is more friend than your psychologist." She said softly. "Christian, you are serious about that woman? You got rid of her for good?"

"Yes, Ana. I got rid of her." His face was full of hope as he gazed at her lovely face. "I love you, Ana. Come home, baby. Please come home to me."

"I want to…but…I don't want to live at Escala. It's full of your past and that woman who thought she owned the place." She looked down. "I think we need a place of our own, a place that we grow together on a clean slate that we write on."

Christian came to his feet and offered her his hand. "We will buy a new home just for us. I always wanted to live on the water. Would you like that Baby?"

"I would love that." She whispered up at him as he drew her into his arms. Her body craved his touch and his heat. Even if she wanted to fight the draw of Christian Grey, she couldn't. Her body betrayed her mind's warnings and blossomed in his embrace. Her heart was racing, her breathing was rapid and her breasts began to tingle in that oh so familiar feeling. "Can we stay at Bellevue until we find a home?"

"Or we can stay at the Fairmont." He offered knowing that they would have more privacy. "Can I kiss you, Ana?"

She closed her eyes and offered her mouth for their first kiss in weeks. She melted into him feeling weak in the legs. She held onto his shoulders as their kiss got deeper and passion burned between them. "I think we better get to the Fairmont, and learn to be a couple again."

Christian kissed the end of her upturned nose and smiled a hundred thousand watt smile. He picked her up in his arms and cradled her close to his heart. "With great pleasure, Mrs. Grey."

They were wrapped in each other's arms in the afterglow of their lovemaking. Ana smiled in peace and joy. She was finally back where she belonged…in the arms of the man that she loved and would love until the end of time.

A/N: The line that Christian says to his reflection, "I'm staring at the mess I made" is from the song _The Mess I Made_ by Parachute.


End file.
